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Thursday, August 9, 2012

What makes a woman?

The
fashion media will tell you that you became a woman when you bought your first
pair of heels, applied make-up for the first time, wore sexy lingerie or bought
a designer handbag with your own money. If you believe this then that’s just
shameful and you’re probably quite ignorant and empty inside.

Being
a woman is still a constant struggle to be taken seriously, to be employed in a
position of power, to be paid more than a man, to be strong and not be called a
bitch, to be spontaneous and not be called a dumb blonde, to enjoy being single
and not be called a slut, even the term "housewife" is so
disrespectful.

We are so used to this second rate treatment, that we often don't realise to what extent we have been side-lined in this country.

Our
men still don't give us the respect we command, our President himself doesn't
even know that having unprotected sex can lead to HIV Aids, let alone really
make any difference to this disease and the total annihilation this has on
families, women and children and the future of our country. Our Government
allows rapists to walk freely in our society, dispensing shorter punishments
and sentences after their heinous crimes against our women and children.

What
does that say about us as a nation? Do we tolerate sexual abuse; do we hold our
women in such low regard? It’s in the smallest actions too, the lurid stares,
the drunken ass grabbing, the inability to understand what the word “No” means.

The
women of South Africa need far more recognition for their efforts, for their
unconditional love to our people. The hours of unpaid labour they work towards
helping our abused, sick, HIV ridden and uneducated children, starting NGO’s, crèches,
Rape Survivor Units all without the support of our Government.

We
are so well protected by our media, by our biased newspapers and national broad
casters; we are BLIND to the sheer magnitude of the suffering of our women and
children. And our patriarchal government clearly doesn’t give a shit about our
lack of state medical care, education and basic human rights. They believe it’s
their ‘traditional’ right to enslave their wives, their daughters, ensuring
that they never become independent, that they have no place in our economy, in
business.

I
believe you become a woman when you command your place in the world, when you
stand up for your beliefs, when you are selfless in your actions, when you are
strong in times of hardship and when you speak out about the injustices of our
people.

Women’s
day is not enough for us, we want more. When
you strike a woman, you strike a rock.

*And
please don’t think that I’m being ‘dramatic’ because I’m a woman and its Women’s
Day.

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Disclaimer

All words are my own unless otherwise stated. If you would like to publish any of my columns, please contact me at jodileza@gmail.com

If you attempt to use my writing, in any way or form, without my permission, I will hunt you down and make sure you regret you ever crossed me. I am that seriaas. You should know that I am half Italian and my great grandfather was a Mafiosa, therefore, you will sleep with the fishes. Comprendo?

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